22-4-106 - Absence from employment Amount of compensation. - Tennessee Statutes

22-4-106. Absence from employment Amount of compensation.

(a)  (1)  Upon receiving a summons to report for jury duty, any employee shall, on the next day the employee is engaged in the employee's employment, exhibit the summons to the employee's immediate superior, and the employer shall thereupon excuse the employee from employment for each day the employee's service as a juror in any court of the United States or this state exceeds three (3) hours.

     (2)  If an employee summoned for jury duty is working a night shift or is working during hours preceding those in which court is normally held, the  employee shall also be excused from employment as provided by this section for the shift immediately preceding the employee's first day of service. After the first day of service, when the person's responsibility for jury duty exceeds three (3) hours during a day, the person whose circumstances fall within the parameters of this subdivision (a)(2) shall be excused from the person's next scheduled work period occurring within twenty-four (24) hours of that day of jury service. Any question concerning the application of this subdivision (a)(2) to a particular work shift or shifts shall be conclusively resolved by the trial judge of the court to which the employee has been summoned.

(b)  Notwithstanding the excused absence as provided in subsection (a), the employee shall be entitled to the employee's usual compensation received from such employment; however, the employer has the discretion to deduct the amount of the fee or compensation the employee receives for serving as a juror.  Moreover, no employer shall be required to compensate an employee for more time than was actually spent serving and traveling to and from jury duty.  If an employer employs less than five (5) people on a regular basis or if the juror has been employed by an employer on a temporary basis for less than six (6) months, the employer is not required to compensate the juror during the period of jury service pursuant to this section.

(c)  It is the duty of all persons paying jurors their fee or compensation for jury service to issue to each juror a statement showing the daily fee or compensation and the total amount of fees or compensation received by the juror. The person also shall provide a juror with a statement showing the number of hours the juror spent serving each day if the juror or juror's employer requests such a statement prior to the service at issue.

(d)  (1)  No employer shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against an employee for serving on jury duty if the employee, prior to taking time off, gives the required notice pursuant to subsection (a).

     (2)  (A)  Any employee who is discharged, demoted or suspended because the employee has taken time off to serve on jury duty is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by such acts of the employer.

          (B)  Any employer who willfully refuses to rehire or otherwise restore an employee or former employee commits a Class A misdemeanor.

(e)  Any employer who violates this section commits a Class A misdemeanor.

(f)  For the purposes of this section, “employer” includes, but is not limited to, the state of Tennessee or any local government.

[Acts 2008, ch. 1159, § 1.]